The Sharks will rock in 2011

IN the week that the Sharks kicked off their 2010 Super 14 campaign, their pre-season went from the ridiculous to the outright comical.

They were still fighting the Lions in court over the services of two key players (flank Willem Alberts and fullback Louis Ludik) ; they had lost Pumas flyhalf Juan Martin Hernandez to long-term injury; next-in-line flyhalf Ruan Pienaar also got injured and on the Wednesday before kick-off, third-choice 10 Steve Meyer suffered a nervous breakdown and retired from rugby.

No wonder the Sharks lost that Saturday to the Cheetahs and indeed their next four games (two of those in Christchurch and Sydney) before pulling themselves together and winning seven of their remaining eight games.

That gave them the momentum to kick on in the Currie Cup and win their second title in three years, but perhaps more important than getting their name on the 120-year-old Cup was the style of rugby the Durbanites played, which could not have contrasted more with the conservative approach they were forced to adopt in the Super 14 when the only flyhalf they could recruit was former England player Andy Goode, who knew no other way than the boot.

But coach John Plumtree astutely saw the way the game was going under the law focuses and threw caution to the wind in the Currie Cup. When teenager Patrick Lambie was moved from 12 to flyhalf early in the Currie Cup, the first time he kicked the ball in his debut at 10 was after 50 minutes.

Lambie, one of the hottest new stars in SA rugby, is likely to be the starting flyhalf in 2011 as the Sharks continue where they left off in the Currie Cup – playing the attacking, ball-in-hand brand that is promoted by the refereeing focuses.

They will be aided by significantly better depth than they had in 2010. Even before young Lambie had spectacularly come through, Jacques-Louis Potgieter had been signed from the Bulls (he played 10 for the Cheetahs in 2009) and Meyer Bosman, the accomplished Cheetahs 12, was recruited to sort out a position that has been an enduring problem for the Sharks.

Lock Ross Skeate, formerly of the Stormers, has returned from Toulon and giant Gerhard Mostert, a highly rated former Lion, has recovered from a year of serious shoulder injuries.

At scrumhalf, the Sharks have taken an interesting new turn. Stalwart Rory Kockott found himself on the outer in the Currie Cup because the swift passing game of Charl Mcleod better suited the new game the Sharks were playing, and the Sharks took this a step further when they bought athletic Western Province youngster Conrad Hoffman, again at the expense of Kockott, who took the hint and moved to the Lions.

Springbok captain John Smit has shed serious kilos to get back to his fighting weight and is amped to perform well in his farewell Super tournament.

Compared to last year, the Sharks are better composed; they have an exciting new game plan and are highly motivated to prove a point after last year’s disappointment.

TOP XV

15 Louis Ludik

14 Lwazi Mvovo

13 Stefan Terblanche

12 Meyer Bosman

11 JP Pietersen

10 Patrick Lambie

9 Charl Mcleod

8 Ryan Kankowski

7 Keegan Daniel

6 Willem Alberts

5 Alistair Hargreaves

4 Steven Sykes

3 Jannie du Plessis

2 Bismarck du Plessis

1 John Smit

Squad

Louis Ludik

Odwa Ndungane *

Lwazi Mvovo *

Luzuko Vulindlu

Riaan Swanepoel

Stefan Terblanche *

Adrian Jacobs *

Meyer Bosman *

Jacques-Louis Potgieter

Patrick Lambie *

Conrad Hoffman

Charl Mcleod

Tian Meyer

Ryan Kankowski *

Willem Alberts *

Keegan Daniel *

Jacques Botes

Alistair Hargreaves *

Ross Skeate *

Gerhard Mostert

Steven Sykes

Jannie du Plessis *

Eugene van Staden

Beast Mtawarira *

John Smit (c) *

Craig Burden

Bismarck du Plesssis *

* International

IN: Bosman (Cheetahs), Potgieter (Bulls), Hoffman (Stormers), Van Staden (Griquas), Skeate (Toulon), Meyer

OUT: Rory Kockott (Lions), Waylon Murray (Lions), Patric Cilliers (Lions), Johann Muller (Ulster), Ruan Pienaar (Ulster), Andy Goode (Worcester), Deon Carstens (Saracens), Andries Strauss (Cheetahs)

Coach: John Plumtree

Asst coaches: Grant Bashford, Hugh Reece-Edwards

Manager: Trevor Barnes

GAMEBREAKER

WILLEM ALBERTS

The massive Johannesburger is a seriously powerful unit and was just warming up last year when he came to the Sharks from the useless Lions, who had had a pitifully poor conditioning programme. He has shed kilos, grown in explosivity, and was such a hit in the Currie Cup that he was picked from nowhere for the End-Of-Year tour. After being injured for the tour opener against Ireland, he scored a try in each of the Boks’ three remaining tour games. Alberts is a trump card for Plumtree because he is equally at home at lock, blindside flank and No 8.

RISING STAR

PATRICK LAMBIE

Before his 21st birthday (in October 2011), Lambie has variously played, fullback, flyhalf and inside centre for the SA Schools, Under 19 and Under 21 teams and off the bench earned three caps at 10 on the Boks’ November tour last year.

He clearly is a gifted player and from a Springbok point of view is a shining light in the direction the Boks must go in the modern era because he loves running the ball and while he has a very good boot, he uses it only as a last resort. He was Man of the Match in the Currie Cup final, scoring two tries and missing just one kick at goal in the Sharks’ 30-10 hammering of Western Province in Durban.

BY Mike Greenaway